Just like romance, text messages are not dead.

When it comes to direct marketing there isn’t a channel more connected to the customer than SMS marketing.

Since text message marketing is permission-based, consumers opt into campaigns, allowing them to make a significant jump down the sales funnel.

The key to successful SMS marketing is creating a mutually beneficial relationship between customers and your business. SMS marketing software help increase conversions while making sure your marketing efforts are seen.

SMS marketing statistics

Businesses are starting to understand SMS marketing’s power in the digital age. Marketing campaigns that are seen are more valuable, proving how useful distributing campaigns via text message is. Many marketing myths abound, but with these statistics, you’ll see why SMS marketing can have a powerful effect on all types of businesses.

• Text marketing is incredibly effective, with SMS open rates as high as 98%.

• The top three reasons marketers say they like using SMS marketing are: a large existing mobile audience (52%), strong customer engagement (44%), and high open rates (43%).

• Curious to know when to send those coupon codes out to your customers? SMS databases grow the most during the holiday shopping season, averaging 41%.

• SMS marketing click-through rates for e-commerce brands can be as high as 36%.

• While SMS marketing may not be a crowded field yet, it’s becoming competitive. 61% of marketers increased their text marketing budgets in 2020.

• SMS messaging is one of the fastest ways to reach consumers directly. 60% of consumers say they read a text within 5 minutes of receiving it.

• Unlike most marketing channels, SMS marketing continues to be a best-kept secret. 61% of marketers still don’t use it.

• 33% of SMS recipients react to CTAs in SMS marketing messages, and 47% of them end up making a purchase.

• Marketers using three or more channels in their campaigns see a purchase and engagement rate 250% higher than marketers using single channels.

• • 68% of survey respondents spend 3-6 hours a day on mobile devices.

• • 15% of American adults access the internet solely through phones

• 54.8% of global web traffic comes from phones.

• 61% of people over 60 are likely to own a smartphone.

• 60% of customers will read texts within 1-5 minutes of receiving them.

• For 78% of buyers, checking, sending, and answering text messages is the primary way they use their phones.

• 61% of people admit to spending more time texting daily since 2020.

• Customers want to start a conversation with your business. 60% of consumers want to be able to respond to SMS messages they receive.

• 83% of consumers would like to receive appointment reminders via text, but only 20% of businesses send them this way.

• 60% of customers want to actively write back to businesses for customer support issues.

• Customers don’t just want you to text them. 43% of consumers said they have proactively texted a business.

• 54% of consumers would like to receive promotions via SMS, but only 11% of businesses send them this way.

• When asked what’s most important when connecting with a business, 31% of consumers said they want options to communicate.

• 66% of consumers would like to receive service notifications via text, but only 23% of businesses send them this way.

• Only 13% of businesses allow customers to respond to their SMS marketing messages.

• 18% of customers say a clean and easy opt-out method is most important when receiving SMS marketing messages.

• 59% of consumers would prefer receiving direct communications from businesses rather than having to download a separate app on their phones.

• The top three SMS text messaging customers say they like to receive updates on their shipping tracking for products (75%), receive order status and confirmations (65%), and schedule reminders (46%).

• Does it matter to customers who (or what) is on the other side of the SMS message? Maybe. 74% of consumers said they still prefer to get help from a human rather than interacting solely with a chatbot.

• When it comes to the best time to send SMS marketing messages, the early bird gets the worm. 75% of consumers say they check their phone within 30 minutes of waking up.

• The top three industries customers say they’re more likely to opt-in for text messages are e-commerce or retail (46%), healthcare (43%), and banking or financial institutions (41%).

• 88% of respondents said they ignore phone calls from businesses and unknown numbers “often” or “very often”.

• Easier shopping means more money for your business. 58% of people consider convenience alongside price when deciding where to shop.

• 73% of marketers say email marketing is their best digital channel for return on investment (ROI).

• SMS marketing click-through rates can be 10-15% higher than email marketing campaigns.

• The size of a mobile database is typically between 2 and 10% of a retailer’s email database.

• Consumers are 4.5x more likely to reply to an SMS marketing message than a marketing email.

• 85% of consumers prefer to receive an SMS over a voice call or an email.

• 66% of consumers either prefer mobile messaging or consider it their second communication choice when compared to phone and email.

• Consumers are 134% more likely to respond to a text than an email, and 86% of businesses using SMS find it generates higher engagement than email.

• 65% of customers say they have unsubscribed from a business text.

• The top two reasons customers unsubscribe from business texts are because they find the messages spammy (31%) and receive too many messages (30%).

Sometimes the best way to reach your customers is to go directly to them. With SMS marketing, you can send targeted messages that provide real value faster. And with the help of an SMS marketing software solution, you can do everything from tracking interaction data related to each SMS campaign to providing analytics into SMS marketing efforts and more.